But also . . . maybe she was being ridiculous. Joy was in front of her, and maybe she shouldn’t question it or analyze it to death or waste her time worrying about when the other shoe might drop. Maybe she should just appreciate what she had while she had it.
Teddy got up and then sat down on Everett’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re staying here,” she said, trying not to cry.
“Hey,” Everett said, wiping a tear off her face with his thumb. “What was it you said in your email?”
“Which part?” Teddy asked, wishing Everett would stop talking so she could kiss him. “I wrote it pretty fast in my car. I was kind of rambling.”
“The part about how you love me,” Everett said. “Is that true, or did you add it in there for dramatic effect?”
Teddy smiled. “It’s true,” she said. “I love you, Everett St. James. I knew I loved you on our very first date.”
“Well, I have you beat,” Everett said, kissing her neck. “Because I knew I loved you from your very first email. Maybe I didn’t think those words, but I knew you were special, and I knew I wanted to meet you. I love you, Theodora Phillips.”
Teddy grabbed his face and kissed him, hard. “You promise you’re not leaving?”
“Promise,” Everett said. “I have way too much to stay here for. And I’m never, ever forgetting plans with you again, okay? I don’t want work to be my life anymore. I want my life to be my life.”
Teddy smiled and kissed him.
He lifted her off his lap and stood up. “What’s happening?” Teddy asked, standing up.
“Let’s go home,” Everett said. “We need to stop making out on the studio couch. It’s been around awhile, and also Tom is out there and he’s an incorrigible gossip.”
Teddy smiled as Everett held out a hand. And as she took it, letting his big fingers wrap around hers, she knew this didn’t solve all her problems. She was still a work in progress, still a blank canvas. But now she knew she didn’t have to fill that canvas alone.
“Let’s go home,” she said. He kissed her on the forehead and Teddy knew that, even if she couldn’t plan out her whole future, she could figure out her entire life this way: taking one step at a time with Everett St. James by her side.
Epilogue
Josie’s small backyard was beautiful in every season, but in early August, with the echinacea slowly swaying in the wind and her huge outdoor table illuminated by twinkle lights in the dusk, it was Teddy’s favorite place on Earth.
And right now, with everyone she loved crowded around that table, she didn’t think it was possible to be happier. Kirsten and Eleanor had organized a birthday dinner for her, with Josie providing the food. Teddy’s plate was heaped high with corn, tomato-and-orzo salad, and perfectly grilled chicken pieces, and she was already eyeing the huge chocolate sheet cake in the center of the table. Also, she was slightly tipsy on Josie’s signature sangria, which probably should’ve come with some sort of warning.
Teddy looked around the table, at her mother, Sophia, and Craig (who was, naturally, gnawing on a chicken leg). The Viking was talking to Carlos and his girlfriend, presumably about toys. Natalie and Lillian were laughing at whatever Josie was saying, Kirsten and Eleanor were whispering about something, and Sophia and Craig’s kids were running around and throwing tennis balls to Josie’s dogs. Even Everett’s family was there, and Everett’s coworkers, Jeremy and Astrid, whom she’d become friends with over the past year.
It was perfect, made more so because Everett was right beside her, holding her hand the whole time even though it made the process of eating grilled chicken significantly more difficult. She looked over to smile at him, only to see him mouthing something to Kirsten.
“What are you saying?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “Are you planning something?”
Everett widened his eyes. “What?”
“Is this going to be one of those situations like at a restaurant where you tell the waitstaff it’s my birthday and everyone has to come out and sing an awkward song? Because there aren’t any servers here, and I’m sure Josie would be happy to sing, but it’s gonna be uncomfortable.”
Everett leaned in and kissed her cheek. “All will be revealed.”
Teddy heard the telltale clink of flatware on a wineglass and turned to see Kirsten and Eleanor standing up, getting everyone’s attention.
Everyone quieted down as Kirsten said, “Hello, friends, family, and lovers of Teddy Phillips!”
“Just the one lover but okay,” Everett muttered in Teddy’s ear.
“Thank you all so much for being here to celebrate the birth of one of our absolute favorite people,” Kirsten said.
“And thank you so much to Josie for hosting us and providing a truly stellar dinner,” Eleanor said, leading everyone in a round of applause. Josie did a dramatic bow, complete with hand flourishes.
“Teddy, you know we love you, but we wanted to take a moment to tell you, with God and this lethal sangria as our witnesses, that we’re so happy you moved in with us last year, and we can’t imagine our lives without you. Happy birthday!” Kirsten said with a smile.
“Cheers to Teddy!” Eleanor shouted, lifting her glass.
“Oh, no,” Teddy said to Everett, dabbing at her eyes with her napkin. “I’m gonna cry.”
“And now,” Kirsten said, “I believe one Everett St. James would like the floor.”
Teddy whipped her head toward him as he stood up, not looking at her. Everett didn’t often get anxious—after all, he was used to people looking at him—but as he crossed and uncrossed his arms, Teddy realized he was nervous.
“So, uh,” he started, one hand rubbing the back of his neck, “hi, everyone. Most of you know me as Teddy’s boyfriend, and I wanted to say a few words about her on her birthday. Teddy changed my life when she . . . when we . . . uh . . .”
Everett looked at her, looked away, and sighed. “Okay, I can’t do this. Hold on. I’ve gotta . . .”
He fumbled in his pocket, then pulled out his phone. Teddy watched in confusion as he typed something out, and then she felt her own phone buzz in her lap.
She picked it up. One new email from Everett St. James.
“Did you just . . . ?” she started.
“Can you read it?” he asked quickly.
Teddy opened her email and everything went quiet. She could no longer hear the dogs barking or the kids’ happy screeches or Natalie asking, “What are you guys doing?” All that mattered to her were the words on her phone.